Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, World of Warcraft, Kotor 2, or any other story element I may decide to implement from another story.
A/N: I know, I know. This chapter was a beast to write. It was simply one of those things where I REALLY didn't want to write about it, but I couldn't summarize it like I normally do. I'd like to say that won't happen again…but I actually expect it to happen during the Finals.
The next chapter will probably come out within a few weeks max though.
Oh, and since its been so long since an update…I decided to add a summary to what happened in the last six chapters.
SUMMARY OF THE STORY SO FAR
Chapter 1:
After his second attempt at the Genin Exam, Naruto is contacted by a telepath named Runa who agrees to help him learn the clone technique. After successfully teaching him how to perform the technique, she left him with three times: a book on Beginners sealing, a book on Acupressure, and a scroll with the Phoenix technique. Through some positive reinforcement, Nauto managed to learn the technique in the scroll. However, through some as of yet unexplained circumstances, when Naruto went to take the Genin exam, he still failed to create a good clone. Mizuki talked Naruto into stealing the forbidden scroll and through it, he learns the Shadow Clone technique. Iruka finds him first, but is quickly attacked by Mizuki. After using revealing the truth behind the Kyuubi no Kitsune to Naruto, the boy quickly defeats Mizuki with the Shadow Clone technique. He also proves his mastery of the Phoenix technique by healing Iruka's wounds.
Naruto is taken to the Hokage's office, where the Hokage learns that Naruto's mysterious teacher is actually a 'former' Leaf-nin named Kreia. Kreia, when threatened by Hiruzen, told Naruto that the Fourth Hokage was his father, which damaged Naruto and Hiruzen's relationship.
Faraway, it is revealed that Mizuki is now under the custody of Kreia, and her personal Panda summon Mojo.
Chapter 2:
An early flashback reveals that Hiruzen tried to come to terms with Naruto and even revealed to him the name of his mother. Through some harsh therapy, Hiruzen managed to keep Naruto from angsting and believing himself to be a demon. Hiruzen, stuck between a rock and a hard place, tries to think of a way to keep Kreia (still under the alias of Runa, at least to Naruto) away from Naruto, but in the end decides to bide his time.
Back in the present, Kreia slowly teaches Naruto the Heavenly Techniques (ie. The push and pull techniques that Pein uses). Later, Naruto is put on a team with both Sakura and Sasuke. They meet Kakashi, their official sensei. The next day, the new team 7 takes a survival exam. With the help of some clever foresight from Kreia, Naruto manages to create a clever combination of techniques (Naruto style: Icha Icha Harem), which nearly lands him a win. Sasuke seeing a good tactic when he sees one, decides to cash in on the blonde's brilliant plan and team up with Naruto. Unfortunately, neither gains a bell by the end of the time-limit. Naruto cancels the technique and is immediately assaulted by Sasuke, who takes offense to the technique. After reprimanding the girl and threatening the fail all three of them, Kakashi decides to give the trio one last chance. They passed.
Chapter 3:
Naruto continues learning the Heavenly techniques, Hiruzen continues plotting ways to save (Your Mileage May Vary) Naruto. He ultimately decides to wait for Jiraiya before taking action.
After realizing how annoying his team was, and how weak Sakura was, Kakashi decided to take action. He strategically allowed Sasuke to annoy him into getting a Water/Defensive Ninjutsu out of him. Afterwards, Sakura enthusiasm to make herself stronger got Kakashi to give her a low ranking Genjutsu. Afterwards, mostly to get rid of a nagging voice in his head (Kakashi: "God damn you Gai") Kakashi decides to find Naruto a give him a scroll with the basis of a Taijutsu (Berserker) style. Left unsaid was that the moment Kakashi disappeared, he went to go destroy a few of his brain cells, hoping that would eliminate the annoying voice (Kakashi: "it didn't!").
Later Naruto and Co. get a mission to Wave Country. While there, Kreia announces that she wishes to meet him face to face. Back in Konoha, Hiruzen threatens Danzou into finding and eliminating Kreia for him.
Chapter 4:
Naruto finally meets Kreia (he still believes her to be Runa) face to face. He also meets another Jinchuuriki named Fu. Kreia dispatches both Naruto and Fu to take care of a job for her, which they do quickly enough.
Back in Konoha, in his not so secret ROOT headquarters, Danzou realizes that Kreia has taken hold of Naruto. While enjoying a cupcake, delivered to him by one of Hiruzen's ANBU, who weren't supposed to know where his secret base was, or even that it existed, he tried to decide what he would do from that point on.
Later, Sasuke meets with Runa, revealing that he was tailing Naruto. He asks Runa to train him, since she was clearly another Leaf-nin. After denying the Uchiha, she proceeds to screw with his mind, planting in him numerous questions that would continue to haunt him for days to come. He is returned to Tazuna's house with no recollection of what happened, or that he had even met the old woman.
Naruto and Fu have a long talk about the nature of their abilities and of what it means to be an outcast/Jinchuuriki. A talk that leaves Naruto shaken. Later, he returns to Tazuna's home to rest. He later meets with Haku who teaches the boy to protect those close to his heart. Later, Fu spies on and reports on the events during the battle on the bridge.
Chapter 5:
Kreia had a meeting with Kakuzu. Sasuke was beginning to have a mental breakdown. Naruto continued training. Kreia asked Naruto bring food to another one of her students, a girl named Yakumo Kurama. Naruto decided on Ramen.
Jiraiya met up with Kushina, they both happened to be tailing the same guy.
Naruto met Yakumo, who was in full fledge angsting mode, which made Naruto compare her to both himself and Fu. Kreia told Sarutobi some info regarding the new Sound village.
Jiraiya and Kushina spoke, and Jiraiya found out that she supposedly had a daughter, on the same day that he had thought that she had Naruto. Seeing that there's a kid who looks like Minato, and Kushina had a girl that looks like herself, yet absolutely sure that Minato and Kushina weren't supposed to have twins, Jiraiya decides to investigate the matter further…after he finished his other investigations though.
Sasuke and Naruto traded techniques: Naruto got the Phoenix Flower technique and Sasuke got the Shadow Clone. Team seven elected to take the Chunin Exams…
…and Naruto told all the other competitors to go fuck themselves.
Chapter 6:
After the first exam, Kreia (still posing as Runa) allowed Naruto to sign the Panda Summoning Contract. Naruto signed it, summoned, and became acquainted to the trio: Earth, Storm, and Fire. They promised to protect and help Naruto if the boy specifically called for them.
The next day, Naruto and Co took the second exam in the forest of death. Our hero was attacked by Orochimaru. After putting up one heck of a fight, for a Genin, Naruto is thrown aside, and Sasuke is marked by the Cursed Seal. Sakura constantly snaps at Naruto, and, though for completely different reasons than Sakura, actually blames himself for the loss.
Naruto goes out to scout the area, only to come back and find Sakura and Rock Lee being attack by a couple of Sound-nins. Naruto intervenes and fights off the group…and even gains the second scroll. After Sasuke woke up, the trio went towards the Tower in the center, with both scrolls. They reached it early enough and managed to get a few days of rest, and Sasuke got the Cursed Mark sealed off.
The current teams in the exams are: the three teams from Naruto's graduating Class, Gai's team, Kabuto's team, Garra's team, a Sound team, and an Iwa team.
END SUMMARY
Chapter 7: Semi-Finals
"The rules are simple. The matches will be a one on one (cough) between two Genin. You may fight your opponent (cough) with anything and everything at your disposal. If necessary, you may kill your opponent (cough), but if I see a match becoming too one sided, I'll call the match. Remember that you're fighting for the honor of your respective villages (cough). Good luck to all of you."
The screen up top kept cycling through names for several moments. It stopped on two names, each with the symbol of their respective villages. Sasuke (Leaf) vs Yoroi (Leaf)
Both Sasuke and Yoroi, one of the members of Kabuto's team, went down into the arena. Hayate signaled the match to begin, "Hajime!"
'Sharingan!' Sasuke's first move was to quickly activate is bloodlimit. His second was to lunge at Yoroi, aiming to end it quickly with his Sharingan-guided Taijutsu. Upon reaching striking distance, Sasuke jumped in the air and attempted a roundhouse kick.
During this time, Yoroi was quick enough to go through a small chain of handseals, before catching Sasuke's leg. The moment he got a closer look at the boy, or his eyes to be more specific, Yoroi growled. 'Little bastard stole my technique!'
Ignoring a slight feeling of nausea, Sasuke landed with the grace of a cat, before dropping down and attempting a quick sweep-kick to Yoroi's feet. The older shinobi jumped back, avoiding Sasuke's kick.
Standing back upright, Sasuke lunged again and began a long series of punches and kicks at Yoroi. Each one of them was blocked until Yoroi managed to catch both of Sasuke's hands in an arm-locked. Once again, a feeling of nausea washed over the Uchiha. Putting two and two together, Sasuke's eyes widened before kicking Yoroi in the stomach, getting the older shinobi to release him. He then put some distance between himself and his opponent. The Uchiha frowned as he began wondering what the man did to him earlier. He cursed himself when he looked at the man. He hadn't noticed that Yoroi's hands had a slight glow. 'What Jutsu is he using?' he asked himself, remembering those hand seals Yoroi did earlier.
-x-
Sakura frowned before turning to look at her sensei, "What's wrong with him, Kakashi-sensei?"
Not even sparing the girl a glance, he whispered, "He's using a Ninjutsu that allows the user to steal their target's chakra."
"He's stealing Sasuke-kun's chakra?"
"Battles of this fashion, between two people of the same village are usually difficult, in some ways even more so than battles between two people of different villages. Neither combatant wants to lose, yet they also don't want to kill a member of their own village." Though Kakashi's statement would generally be considered correct, it wasn't so in the case of Yoroi. Though Yoroi was unwilling to kill Sasuke, it wasn't because of any form association he may have felt for a member of his own village or what not. "So they use different tactics, like the one Yoroi is using. He uses Taijutsu style that focuses on grappling, in conjunction with a Ninjutsu that lets him absorb chakra."
Sakura, as well a few others who knew Sasuke, flinched when they saw Yoroi slam him into the ground. The older man then grabbed the younger boy's face, effectively holding him against the ground.
-x-
"Foolish little brother."
Yoroi's speed was as laughable as his fighting style. Sasuke could easily run circles around him and, thanks to his Sharingan, he could also read him with ridiculous ease. Despite the fact that he hadn't heard Kakashi's assessment of Yoroi's abilities, he was quickly able to deduce to function of his Ninjutsu. All in all, it should have been a quick victory. Unfortunately, certain factors kept the boy from concentrating on his opponent.
"-you are filled with far too much anger and hatred that your very sanity is hanging on a thread."
Certain factors like voices in his head. One of the voices belonged to his traitorous older brother. The second voice sounded like an old woman, the same voice that had been haunting him since Wave, he couldn't remember ever meeting.
"Hate me, cling to your pathetic life."
Sasuke kicked Yoroi in the stomach, knocking the older boy backwards. Sasuke leapt at the man in front of him, motioning to kick the man.
"HATE ME!"
-Sasuke faltered for a moment, just a moment, but it was enough for Yoroi to get, safely, within Sasuke's range and catch the boy. Yoroi then turned and slammed the boy into the ground. Sasuke's eyes widened when he began to feel nausea once again.
"-where is that vigor you displayed just moments ago."
The Uchiha clenched his teeth and began struggling.
Foolish little brother.
Sasuke's eyes widened, "DAMN YOU!" Sasuke managed to free his right arm and Yoroi noticed far too late that the younger ninja was holding a kunai.
Yoroi snarled as a sharp pain erupted in his elbow. Cringing as he crawled backwards, the man sniffled and tried to grasp his elbow only to aggravate the kunai that was still lodged in it. Breathing roughly, he clenched his teeth and grasped at the kunai. Breathing in and out a few times, he quickly pulled it out…grunting in the process. He, slowly, rose up and looked for the Uchiha…He found him.
In the form of a pair of Sharingan eyes, inches away from his own.
-x-
"That move." Lee narrowed his eyes, as Sasuke launched Yoroi into the air with a, near, vertical kick.
Neji nodded. It was the same opening move Lee, and Gai, used whenever they were ready to use their Front Lotus. So, the Uchiha knows how to use the Iron fist? That was interesting, he learned, not only the Uchiha Clan's personal Taijutsu style, but also a second one? That could be interesting.
"He copied it with his Sharingan", Gai said.
That would explain Lee's surprise. After all, it wasn't such a big surprise that two people, from the same village, learned to use the same Taijutsu style. At least one that wasn't a secret, like the Hyuuga's Gentle Fist. So…the Uchiha had copied Lee's move. But, when? During the Forest of Death maybe? Lee had been alone, protecting the guy's pink-haired teammate, for quite some time. Perhaps the Uchiha hadn't remained unconscious afterall.
"Amazing…" Lee muttered, as he watched Sasuke appear above the airborne Yoroi. The Uchiha began kicking the older man.
Neji snarled at that. Perhaps it was his clan's old hatred of the Uchiha or perhaps it was the growing respect he admittedly had for his teammate, but the fact that the Uchiha stole one of Lee's hard earned techniques bugged him.
"He'll kill him!" Tenten screamed, though her voice was drowned out by several others around the room.
Neji, startled out of his musings, looked up to see the Uchiha, still airborne, finishing a set of Handseals, ending in the Tiger sign.
-x-
He'd show Yoroi…he'd show whomever the fucking voice was…he'd show Itachi…he'd show EVERYONE. Sasuke glared at the falling man as he finished his set of handseals…
He'd show everyone what happens when you screw with an Avenger.
"Dragon Combo!" Sasuke called out before breathing out a large fireball at the falling man.
The spectators watched in mixtures of awe, panic, and bloodlust as Yoroi was engulfed in flames.
A second later, the fireball dissipated and Sasuke landed on the ground, and promptly fell to his knees. The Uchiha looked up and saw Hayate several feet away. An unconscious, and severely burned Yoroi, was laying behind the sickly Jounin. The man stared at the Uchiha momentarily before raising his right arm.
The winner is Sasuke Uchiha.
Temari (Sand) vs Tenten (Leaf)
The next match was between Tenten, the kunoichi under Maito Gai, and Temari, the kunoichi from the only Suna team to make it to the Preliminary round. Unfortunately, for Tenten, the match was over before it even began. Though Tenten was skilled, perhaps the most skilled Konoha kunoichi taking the exam this year, she was in no way a match for Temari's fighting style. While Tenten concentrated on long ranged attacks with multiple types of throwing weapons, Temari used a style in conjunction with her fan that seemed to give her some control over the wind and air around her. She easily deflected all the projectiles that came her way, while arrogantly toying with the kunoichi from Konoha. In the end, Temari used her fan to trap Tenten in a cyclone that lifted her off the ground. When the cyclone subsided, the bun-haired girl dropped, right on top of Temari's fan. She then, cruelly, threw the girl away like a rag doll. Tenten would have landed harshly on the ground, if not for Lee, who quickly snatched the girl up midair. After chastising Temari, who all but ignored his remarks, he allowed the Medic-nins to take Tenten away.
Ino (Leaf) vs Sakura (Leaf)
The moment that Ino got into the arena; she quickly untied her Hitai-ate from her waist, and tied it around her forehead. Sakura glared at her and followed suit; she untied her own Hitai-ate, from the position on top of her head, and retied it around her forehead. After a small conversation, one that Ino was only partially paying attention to, the two former friends charged at each other.
During her charge, her mind went back to the second exam.
-x- flashback –x-
Ino looked on in horror as her teammates suddenly disappeared from her sight. It wasn't that they were moving too fast, quite the opposite actually. She was in the back of the group when she suddenly felt a pair of hairy arms wrap around her, one pressed hard against her mouth, preventing her from screaming out. She was then, without either of her teammates realizing, taken into the shadows.
Shikamaru noticed her disappearance a second too late.
The hairy arms muffling her screams. She struggled violently against the arms, all of which was unfortunately in vain. Tears began to sting at her eyes, as thousands of scenarios went through her mind's eye…none of them good.
And then everything went black.
-x- end flashback –x-
"Clone Technique", Sakura called out. Two illusions of the girl suddenly appeared next to her. All three charged at Ino.
The blonde kicked the middle one, which disappeared, and punched the one on the right, which also proved to be a copy. The last one got in Ino's range and punched straight on the chin, sending the blonde stumbling backwards.
-x- flashback –x-
Consciousness came back to her several minutes later, though she really didn't have a clear perception of time at the moment. Groggily, she looked up, expecting to see a group of ninja around her. The scenario was implanted in her head by a veteran kunoichi at the Academy, though she honestly didn't believe it would actually happen to her.
She let out a sigh of relief when she saw, not a group of male potential rapist, but a frail-looking old woman, sitting on a large rock. She quickly looked around, to see if there were others in the clearing. She didn't see anyone. The blonde slowly turned her eyes back, resting them on the woman before him.
Ino blinked when she saw the old woman, vaguely seeing a slight resemblance. "Who are you?" She actually wanted to ask the question, -Do I know you- but decided against it.
The old woman gave a slight smile, "Family."
-x- end flashback –x-
"AAHHHH!" Ino screamed as she slice through her ponytail with a kunai. She then tossed the blonde tresses in front of her.
The pinkette frowned at her former friend.
"Ninja Art: Mind Body Switch Technique!"
-x- flashback –x-
She stood, facing the old woman in front of her, "You're my great-aunt." Realization suddenly dawned on the girl. In Ino's defense, she hadn't seen the woman since she, Ino, was about four years old.
"I am. I'm also someone who wants to see my niece get everything she desires?"
Ino frowned at that, "My desires? What would you know of my desires?" it was a fair enough question, if a little rudely phrased. After all, she hadn't seen the woman in eight-odd years.
The woman grinned, "I know that all your current ones revolve around a certain Uchiha." Ino blushed at that, very truthful, statement. "I also know that one such as he will be looking to revive his clan, and he won't do it with just any random girl, pretty as she may be. He'll want a skilled kunoichi and an adept politician. I can help you with both cases…tell me has dear Inoichi mentioned me at all?"
'Did he ever', Ino thought to herself. During her Clan studies, she had to learn about various important figures that belonged to her family. Luckily for her, there was really only a handful. The most important two were the twins sisters: Runa and Ino, the latter being her namesake, who first developed the mind techniques and founded the clan in the first place. Besides those two, there was only one other person who was talked about with the same amount of respect as the clan's two forbearers; and that was Kreia Yamanaka. "He said you were powerful." That wasn't exactly what her father said. He said that she mastered the clan techniques in a way that made her teachers look like novices. She easily, and quickly, surpassed all those that were considered masters in the Yamanaka Clan style. He said that she created about a dozen techniques, despite the fact that she only added eight of them to the clan library. He said that Kreia was power…pure and simple.
Kreia smiled.
-x- end flashback –x-
Ino gasped when she was forced back to her body. 'What the hell was that?' she thought to herself. It was like Sakura had a second personality. She quickly got to her feet and looked in front of her, seeing Sakura back to hers. She growled before putting her hands in her family's unique hand seal. 'I can't lose!'
-x- flashback –x-
"But why didn't you just come talk to me at home? Why the hell did you send a damn yeti to come and kidnap me in the middle of an exam."
"Aside from the fact that I just arrived back in Konoha this morning", she lied, "I don't want any of our other family members to pester me to train them as well. So I came to you directly and in secret." Kreia gave the girl a hard look. "I chose you Ino, because you interested me more than the others. Perhaps you think that was a mistake? Perhaps I should have gone to your cousin instead?"
Ino's eyes widened, "No!" Not that she hated her younger cousin, Reina. It's just that the girl was already being haled as a future prodigy of her clan, despite only being seven years old. Most people in the clan were paying a lot of attention to her, attention that Ino secretly craved for herself. The blonde pursed her lips, "I was just curious. So, when do you want to teach me?"
"To be honest, I'm not one hundred percent sure that you're worth my time?"
Ino's eyes widened, "What?"
-x- end flashback –x-
Sakura charged Ino, weaving left and right in an attempt to dodge the girl's second, Mind Body Switch attempt. Unfortunately for the pinkette, that wasn't Ino's plan.
"Ninja Art: Psychic Spear!"
Sakura flinched when she heard a loud, high pitched noise enter her ears. She tried to ignore it though, and instead went to punch Ino across the face.
Ino easily dodge the attack and leapt backwards, hands still in her family's handseal.
The kunoichi of team 7 flinched again, when she began to get a minor headache.
-x- flashback –x-
"Today, I plan to teach you one technique. Feel free to use it for the remainder of this part of your exam. If you manage to pass this part, I'll train you some more. If you fail to make it to the third part of your exam, then you may consider my interest in you expired."
Ino nodded, giving her a fiery look. "I'll make it!"
"Good. Now, I hope you know what will happen if you don't keep your new apprenticeship under me a secret. Some members of our family may try to coerce me into training other clan members: your clan's little prodigy included."
"I won't tell anyone."
Kreia smiled at her grandniece, "Now, shall we begin?"
For a moment, Ino looked unsure, "But shouldn't I be getting back to my teammates, to make sure I am able to pass the third exam. How long will it take me to learn this technique?" She also knew that Shikamaru and Chouji would be worried about her…something that didn't sit well with her.
"My dear, you still have much to learn", the woman gave Ino an amused smile. "The Yamanaka clan specializes in techniques relating to the Mind. And time, is just a perception of the mind", though Ino didn't know it, and felt like it was much longer, she had only been gone about ten minutes. "Let me worry about how long it takes you."
-x- end flashback –x-
Hands still in the handseal, Ino lunged at Sakura, who at this point was clutching her head. Balancing on one leg, she quickly kicked the girl with the other one, sending the pinkette to the ground. Sakura just stayed on the ground, still clutching her head.
"I declare this Ino Yamanaka's victory", he said before turning to the blonde, "Release the technique."
Ino did so and, after casting one last look at her former friend, walked up the stairs to stand with her teammate and sensei.
-x- flashback –x-
Oddly, though it seemed to her like well over half a day went by, it only took her about an hour to learn the actual technique. Afterwards, she followed her great aunt's precise directions to her teammates.
The moment she entered the small clearing though…
"Ninja Art: Shadow Imitation Technique!"
A reasonably paranoid Shikamaru caught her in his own family's Ninjutsu style
-x- end flashback –x-
After a quick check up, a Medic decided that Sakura would be all right after a while, and decided to leave her with her sensei.
The next match between Shino of Leaf and Kin of Sound was also rather one sided. Kin immediately went on the offense, trying to hit the bug-user with multiple senbon needles. For his part, Shino just dodged all the projectiles. She tried to mix up her tactics a bit by throwing senbon needles with bells attached, which Shino also dodged. It seemed she had planned on that though, for the moment the needles crashed into the ground the bells rang. Shino dropped to the ground; obviously affected by the bells in some way. The girl grinned and began to casually walk up to him, spinning a kunai in her hand. Unfortunately, what she failed to notice was Shino's shadow or, to be more exact, what was hiding in his shadow. The moment her right foot stepped in his shadow, his Kikaichu immediately began crawling up her leg. Looking down to see the bugs on her leg she immediately screamed in horror. Shino stood up, seemingly unharmed, and lunged at Kin. He quickly smacked the girl across the head, sending her flying several yards to the side.
She landed unconscious.
Kiba (Leaf) vs Kurotsuchi (Rock)
Physically, Kiba had to admit that Kurotsuchi cute. She was thin, with barely a discernable muscle mass. She wore red fatigues, with a brown vest on top. She also wore a black sash around her waist, which went from just under her breasts to just above her behind.
The moment she and Kiba faced off, the dog-trainer gave her a cheeky grin. "Oh, I get the cute one? Don't worry sweetie, I won't hurt you too badly."
The girl gave him a cute smile, in return.
Hayate resisted the urge to groan at Kiba's comment. He remembered a time when he underestimated female opponents. "Hajime!"
Kiba smirked and rushed the girl, leaving his partner, Akamaru, on the ground behind him. Kurotsuchi, in response, just reached behind her. She grasped a handle and pulled it. Her 'sash' began to rotate around her body, before becoming unwound completely.
Kiba, exactly six feet away, had to twist to the right to avoid a nasty slash to the face. Instead he got away with a small scratch on his left cheek.
-x-
"Kakashi, what kind of weapon is that?" Sasuke asked, as he watched Kiba toss a round pill to Akamaru. Kiba's expression, stance, and aura all read that he was completely pissed off.
Ignoring his rudeness, Kakashi answered the boy's question, "It's called an Urumi (Coiled Sword). It's a long sword-like weapon normally used by the monks of Earth Country. The blade is forged to be, not only sharp, but extremely flexible, letting whoever is wielding it to use it in a similar fashion to a whip. Aside from the long range, it also has a stealth advantage that you don't see in most weapons of that size. Because of its flexibility, you can hide it by coiling it around your body, like she did."
The Uchiha nodded, looking back towards the fight just in time to see Kiba swallow his own pill. "So, she's a weapon specialist." He said, more to himself than anyone else.
"Not at all. I've seen other people use that type of weapon before, including Masters. She's not bad, but she really shouldn't be using that weapon for combat at her current skill level. If I had to guess, I'd say that she's using the weapon as a ruse and simply doesn't want to give her true abilities away unless absolutely necessary. Hmm, I'm willing to bet that she probably favors Ninjutsu to anything else, though she's obviously no slouch with either Taijutsu or Genjutsu. She definitely specializes in Ninjutsu, though, and probably has access to a special element through a rare bloodlimit."
Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. "You got all that from the fact that she's not very good with her weapon."
Kakashi smiled, or at least the trio thought he was smiling. "Well, it helps if you know who her grandfather is…"
-x-
Feeling the chakra surge throughout his body, Kiba got on all fours and growled at the girl. A moment later Akamaru, who had interestingly enough gone from white to red, transformed into a perfect copy of Kiba. "Let's go Akamaru. Dual Piercing Fang!" Both Kiba and Akamaru spun into a cyclone, going straight for Kurotsuchi.
With the grace of a dancer, the girl spun to the right, avoiding Kiba, and side stepped to the left, dodging Akamaru's attack by an inch. She glanced back in time to see both Kiba and Akamaru come out of their spin and land on the ground.
Growling at the fact that she still had her back to him, Kiba lunged at her again, Akamaru half a step behind him, "Dual Piercing Fang!" Once again, she gracefully spun out of the way of both Kiba's and Akamaru's attacks. And once again, she carefully watched the two as they landed. This time, they wasted no time in spinning back into their razor sharp cyclones.
-x-
"She's not going to win by just dancing around like that. One false move and Kiba's going to nail her", Chouji commented.
WHACK
Flinching, Chouji turned to his female teammate. He saw Ino blushing furiously, giving him a dangerous look. "Be careful how you phrase things, fatso!" she hissed.
Thinking over his words again, the poor boy immediately went scarlet when he thought of the, possible, second meaning of his words. "I-I-I-I m-meant-t that he's g-g-oing to b-b-eat her."
"I know what you meant", the girl snapped.
"Be quiet, you're both being too troublesome", Shikamaru commented. He continued watching Kiba and Akamaru constantly attempt to strike Kurotsuchi with their Dual Piercing Fang, only for the girl to dodge it at the last second. 'She's calculating his distance and trajectory…every time Kiba or Akamaru move past her.'
"What are you thinking, Shikamaru?" Asuma asked, whispering.
"That, while Kiba and Akamaru can probably keep this up for a while longer" the members of the Inuzuka clan were trained to develop a high level of stamina after all, "they are expending a troublesome amount of chakra and stamina, while the girl is barely using any energy whatsoever to dodge either of their attacks." She was literally using the bare minimum to side step duo's attacks.
Chouji turned to his best friend, frowning, "Do you really think she can win?"
"Yes", Shikamaru replied, probably finding it to troublesome to say anything else on the matter.
-x-
As Kiba flew past her for what must have been the twentieth time, Kurotsuchi quickly turned on her heel to follow him, ignoring Akamaru who was coming up from her back right side. Seeing Kiba hit the floor, she quickly spun on her toes, and whipped her Urumi out, catching Kiba along his back before he had a chance to enter his Taijutsu style again.
The boy howled in pain, as Kurotsuchi's sword cut straight through his jacket, leaving an ugly gash along his back. Using her current momentum, she easily dodged Akamaru's own attack. The dog landed, but didn't enter the Taijtusu again either.
Giving Kiba a predatory look, she whipped her arm out once, then twice; leaving two more slashes along both his legs, causing him to fall to his knees. Blood was running across all three injuries.
She momentarily paused when Akamaru, still transformed into Kiba, stood between his partner and herself.
Up in the stands, team 8 stared on in horror at Kiba's state. Even the normally stoic Shino seemed a little more emotional than normal.
Akamaru growled as he launched himself at the girl, aiming to get inside the range of her weapon. Seemingly allowing him to do so, Kurotsuchi did nothing as Akamaru slashed a clawed hand straight across her face. A moment later, Kurotsuchi, weapon and all, dissolved into mud. Smelling her behind him, Akamaru turned in time to see Kurotsuchi kick Kiba in the chest, sending the boy tumbling to his back. As Akamaru was about to react, Kurotsuchi quickly placed the heel of her shoe on his neck.
"WAIT/NOOO!" Kurenai and Hinata yelled out respectively from the catwalks, but Kurotsuchi didn't pay either of them any attention. She kept her eyes on Akamaru, silently giving the dog her ultimatum. Yield, or I'll break his neck.
Kiba could only gasp out for oxygen. Slouching, the dog transformed back into his puppy form.
"The match goes to Kurotsuchi of Iwa." He then gave her a hard look, "Now let him go."
Kurotsuchi released her grasp on Kiba, giving the boy a moment to gasp for air, and moved away from him, just as Kurenai landed to check on the boy. Quickly tying the Urumi around her waist, she shot one last look towards Kiba. "Next time, you might want to go all out", she sarcastically joked before skipping back to the stairs and up the catwalks.
The people she walked by actually gave her a wide berth as she passed them.
Kankuro (Sand) vs Yosuke (Rock)
Like his teammate, Yosuke attempted to hide his true abilities while using a katana. Unfortunately, the Rock-nin didn't anticipate that Kankuro would be using a puppet to fight him with. When Yosuke stabbed 'Kankuro' through with his sword, the Sand-nin sprung his trap and quickly overpowered his opponent.
While the fight was short, and seemingly one-sided, it did prove to send a message to Yosuke's final teammate. That message: don't hold back.
Hinata (Leaf) vs Neji (Leaf)
The following fight between Neji and Hinata was also one sided. Most considered it interesting to see two members of the same clan battle it out. After Neji belittled Hinata for some time, both Genin lunged at each other, going into a vicious Taijutsu dance. Both Hinata and Neji, being a part of the Hyuuga clan, were proficient in Jyuuken, a Taijutsu style that used light touches and chakra-based attacks to directly assault their opponent's internal organs.
By appearance, it seemed that neither combatant were doing much more than grazing each other, however the nature of their strikes were much more malicious. About a minute into the Taijutsu match, Hinata began to slow down considerably. She fell to her knees some time later, at which point Neji began to verbally assault her once more. After some unexpected cheering from the sidelines she managed get back up and try one last attack. Neji knocked her back easily enough and would have taken it further if he hadn't been held back by five of the Jounin. The Medics then came to take Hinata away.
Rock Lee (Leaf) vs Zaku (Sound)
Both Rock Lee and Zaku immediately went down to the arena and faced off. Zaku's left arm was in a sling. His right hand was also bandaged, but still obviously usable.
When they were told to start, Lee immediately rushed Zaku. The sound-nin quickly pointed his right hand at the boy and fire his air cannon, which Lee immediately dodged by jumping to the right. Moving quickly, Lee proceeded to flank Zaku's left side. Zaku just grinned and pulled his left arm out of his sling, and fired his air cannon once again. Surprised, Lee barely had time to bring up his arms to cover himself, as he was blown several meters back, hitting the wall in the process.
In obvious arrogance, Zaku laughed at the Leaf-nin's state as Lee picked himself up and stared at the catwalks and towards his mentor. The moment between master and pupil seemed to last for hours. Within that time period: Volcanoes erupted, tsunamis struck, stars exploded, waterfalls flowed, Kakashi ate a sandwich (so hip), and the light shined bright. In the end though, only one word passed between the Beasts of Konoha: YOUTH!
Lee nodded and detached his training weights. Everyone stared wide-eyed as Lee's weights left two craters in the ground from where he dropped them. With a grin, and a flash of his pearly (YOUTHFUL) white teeth, Lee rushed Zaku.
Lee simply rushed straight forward, in blinding speed, and close-lined Zaku, this time sending the Sound-nin flying into the wall. The medics were called in to take him out of the human shaped hole he left there.
Chouji (Leaf) vs Dosu (Sound)
The following fight was between Dosu of Sound and Chouji of Leaf. Though it seemed like Chouji had the advantage throughout most of the fight, Dosu was able to quickly defeat the Leaf-nin in one attack, despite the armor that his Ninjutsu provided him.
Gaara (Sand) vs Misumi (Leaf)
The next fight was between Gaara of Sand and Misumi of Leaf. Misumi, seemingly having no information on Gaara, quickly went through his usually tactic of trying to grapple with the younger boy, using his superhuman flexibility to his advantage. Unfortunately, Gaara's sand rose up to stop the man. It then quickly wrapped around the older nin. Misumi, visibly terrified, which was a quite a feat considering he was wearing a mask, opened his mouth to surrender. Unfortunately, Gaara's next, and only, sentence stopped him in his tracks, "Desert Funeral" With that, the sand around the man imploded, crushing Misumi.
-x-
Everyone up in the stands looked on in horror as Misumi exploded in a shower of blood and gore. Gaara's sand actually protected him from getting hit from the stray body matter. With a twisted smile, Gaara turned and began walking towards the stairs, recalling his sand back at the same time.
Everyone looked towards the screen, waiting to see which of the three fighters would be called up next. The screen stopped.
Naruto (Leaf) vs Akatsuchi (Rock)
Shikamaru smiled to himself, as Hayate cleared his voice. "Naruto of Konohagakure and Akatsuchi of Iwagakure, please proceed down to the arena."
"YEA!" Naruto yelled as he jumped down to the arena, happy at the prospect of getting to fight. Akatsuchi, in a similar display of enthusiasm, jumped down to the arena.
"As I stated earlier, we have an odd number of participants. So the last participant, Shikamaru Nara of Konohagakure, will automatically proceed to the third exam."
Shikamaru's smile widened. 'I get to advance, without having to do anything', he thought approvingly/lazily. Strategically, he also thought about the fact that he didn't have to display any of his skills in front of anyone…at least during this part of the exam that is.
Hayate then looked at the two fighters in front of him, seeing them both standing a few yards in front of each other.
The blonde jinchuuriki stared at his opponent, giving him a once over. Like his teammates he wore mostly red. However, he was much larger than either of his teammates, easily reaching Kakashi's height; and had a mass comparable to a member of the Akimichi Clan. Those two attributes made him look a few years older than either of his teammates. He wore his hitai-ate in a red bandanna, which almost completely covered his black spiky hair.
"The final fight of the preliminary rounds will be between Naruto Uzumaki and Akatsuchi Tatsumi. Hajime!"
Though Naruto visibly tensed up, neither of the fighters moved from their position. Akatsuchi took a few moments to analyze the blond before scowling, "You look like your Fourth Hokage."
Naruto had to use every ounce of his self-control to keep himself from flinching at that comment. Sarutobi, Kakashi, and Gai, the only other people to knew the truth, were forced to do the same less reveal that they knew something they didn't want others to know. With the use of some grade A acting abilities, Naruto just rose an eyebrow, "Oh?"
The rock-nin just smiled, "Then again, you guys seem to have plenty of blue-eyed blonds around here." He emphasized the statement by throwing a glance towards Ino, who actually blushed at the attention.
The blond let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding, and immediately berated himself for doing so. Luckily Akatsuchi didn't seem to notice. Akatsuchi gave off a cheeky grin and then, with speed one wouldn't expect from such a large person, quickly rushed Naruto.
Naruto's eyes widened slightly before his training kicked in. On instinct, he extended both hands and whispered his technique, "Heavenly Subjugation."
Akatsuchi was hit with the force of the attack and had to stop his charge to keep his balance.
Seeing that his opponent start to charge again, Naruto quickly put his hands in the cross seal, "Shadow Clone Technique" and created two clones in front of him. Without missing a beat, Akatsuchi smacked the first clone aside, chopped the second one before punching the real Naruto in the face. To his surprise, the third Naruto also disappeared in a puff of smoke, just like the clones. Hearing a cry above him, Akatsuchi looked up in time to see six Narutos coming down on him. The Narutos landed on Akatsuchi, slamming him into the ground. Unfortunately for the blonde(s), the Iwa-nin dissolved into a pile of mud.
"Ninja Art:-"
Any more dialogue was lost upon the Narutos as they looked up to see Akatsuchi appear above them. He landed, smashing some clones in the process, with the strength of a two-ton boulder, sending the rest of the Narutos away from ground zero. All of the clones disappeared and Naruto landed in a heap a few feet away. Thanks to his (un)natural stamina though, he managed to get back on his feet easy enough and made another hand seal. "Shadow Clone Technique!"
Ten Shadow Clones appeared between Naruto and Akatsuchi, however the latter seemed more annoyed than anything else. "This'll get annoying real fast", the large boy said scratching his head, eyes closed.
The squad of clones immediately pounced at Akatsuchi, planning to take him in his distraction. Akatsuchi's eyes snap open, he opened his mouth and regurgitates out a massive, ten foot long, arm that easily swats aside the clones in front of him.
-x-
"Ewww…" Sakura visibly paled, more than a little repulsed at the thing coming out of the ninjas mouth.
"If you think this is bad, then you're definitely in the wrong profession Sakura", Kakashi mused. Sakura just stared at her teacher in shock, to which he shrugged, "You'll see worse things than that, believe me."
Unlike his female teammate, Sasuke actually looked quite interested. Unfortunately, he'd been completely forbidden from using his Sharingan outside of his own battle…severely forbidden. So he was unable to copy, or even so much as analyze the technique. "What is that Kakashi?"
"It's called a Golem. They're like summoned creatures, but man-made."
Sasuke's headshot towards Kakashi, "You mean they actually make those things."
Kakashi nodded, "One of Iwas founding Clans makes them. They shape and create them out of rock using a number of Secret techniques."
Sakura still looked pale, "Why do they summon those things like that though?"
"We never quite figured that out. Maybe they can't summon it like a regular animal, and needed to come up with something different. Or maybe they just choose to summon them with a unique method." Kakashi's visible eye shut, giving his students an amused look. "Though I suppose it's possible that they aren't summoning at all, and that they actually just store the Golems inside of their bodies."
Sakura's eyes widened when she looked back at the battlefield. "How does something that big fit into someone?"
-x-
Naruto knew that he should probably have been attacking but he was trapped in a daze. He just sat there and watched as the…thing just crawled it's way out of Akatsuchi's mouth. The fact that the thing was easily three times the Iwa-nins already impressive size just made things all the more amazing.
The thing stood at full size, easily towering over both boys in the arena. There was still a chord of Earth that was attached to the Golem's back and Akatsuchi's mouth…but that was severed with a click of the boy's teeth. Akatsuchi then looked past the Golem to Naruto and grinned, "You might wanna give up now-"
With speed that surprised even him, Naruto hurled a kunai straight at the Golem. Upon making contact with the creature, the kunai exploded. However, to the shock of Naruto, and most of those in the audience, the explosion barely left a scratch on the clay giant.
The blonde's eyes narrowed on the Golem, 'There goes my last explosive tag. So what else do I have that can work on solid rock?' He didn't like his prospects. He knew he wasn't strong enough to push or pull the rock. If an explosion didn't work on it, then it wasn't likely that his normal kunai would even dent it. The only thing he could think of was the fireball technique he got from Sasuke, but that technique still wasn't at a level that he could use in actual combat. If he concentrated hard and long enough, he could blow out three fireballs…if he was lucky. Unfortunately, he had spent more time refining his other techniques than he did working on the Phoenix Flower.
Naruto's eyes widened when he saw the Giant lift its large hand, and bring it down on his position. On instinct alone, he jumped back to avoid it. Lucky he did, because the Golems fist literally damaged the ground he had been standing on. Naruto narrowed his eyes when he saw Akatsuchi standing in the same spot he had been since he summoned the Golem. 'Can he even move while controlling that thing?' He thought back to Kankuro's puppet. The puppet was just a tool, a weapon, which Kankuro had to manually control to make effective. Though the Golem was obviously on a whole other level, could it be just another tool, like the Suna-nin's puppet? As he saw the Golem prepare to take another step forward, the blond put his hands in a cross-seal. "All or nothing. Shadow Clone technique!" A hundred shadow clones materialized around Naruto. "Go!"
They all charged straight at the Golem. With a wave of its mighty fist, the Golem swatted ten aside with ease, and then another ten with a second swing. The rest of the clones managed to jump it. The weight and momentum of nearly eighty clones managed to make the Golem stumble and fall backwards, crashing with a deafening sound.
Naruto, ignoring both the clones and the battle with the Golem, immediately rushed straight towards Akatsuchi. After a quick hand seal, fifteen clones immediately flanked Naruto. Upon reaching striking distance, the Narutos leapt at the Iwa-nin.
For his part, Akatsuchi turned his head to the right and opened his mouth. In a moment, another large arm appeared out of his mouth, causing most of the room to look at him in shock. He then quickly whipped his head to the opposite side, easily swiping the clones, and Naruto, the side.
The clones were dispelled, but Naruto managed to land on his feet, despite feeling like he had been hit by a ton of bricks. The Konaha-nin's eyes widened when he saw Akatsuchi, sans the giant arm, appear in front of him. Flexing his arm behind his back, the Iwa-nin gave the blond a fierce uppercut, sending the boy flying up a few feet. He opened his mouth again, and the arm re-materialized and punched the airborne blond.
The blond crashed into the ground with a heap.
-x-
"Naruto!" Sakura screamed.
Even Sasuke flinched at seeing his teammate's state. That had to have broken a few bones. He watched the blond start hacking and coughing up blood.
Kakashi looked down at the blond in front of him. From the side, Gai glanced at the masked ninja and frowned before turning back. Few people probably noticed how Kakashi's fist clenched around the railing.
-x-
Naruto's through fits of coughing that left him red in the face, the blond managed to slowly open his eyes. He immediately clenched them again when he felt something enter his mind. All of his clones had been dispelled. Even now, through the pain filled haze he could hear the Golem begin to rise.
The blond managed to flip himself over, and he struggled to get to his knees, feeling pain from all over his chest. By the time he got to his knees, the Golem had fully risen. Naruto raised his hand to his mouth and wiped the blood away.
Off to the side, he heard the Iwa-nin chuckle to himself mostly.
Close by, Hayate coughed rather loudly, "I think we're finished."
Naruto's eyes widened and he turned to glare at the man, "I'm not done yet!"
Hayate looked down at the boy in front of him, "Can you even stand."
The blond clenched his teeth and immediately proved that he could, in fact, still stand. His knees were shaking though. It was obviously taking most of his physical strength to do so though.
Hayate frowned and looked towards the Hokage, who merely waved off any complaint.
Akatsuchi just grinned at the blond, "You should know when to quit."
"Shut up!" the blond snapped.
"Kick his ass Aka!" Akatsuchi's female teammate called out from the railing.
Hearing the massive footsteps of the Golem behind him made Naruto's heart drop. He looked, through blurry eyes, at his blood soaked hand.
"NARUTO MOVE!"
He'd long since discarded the idea that the Golem was a mere tool. Akatsuchi had one out, and seemingly had one in reserve.
"MOVE YOU IDIOT!"
It didn't matter though…he wasn't the only one who knew how to summon. Naruto went through the hand seals, remembering what it was like to have the Kyuubi's power temporarily coursing through him.
"NARUTO!"
Naruto's eyes narrowed when he saw Akatsuchi just stand there, looking at him with amusement. He'd wipe that smirk off his face. He had already lost one fight because he held back…he wouldn't lose a second one. "Summoning Technique: Earth, Storm and Fire!"
An explosion of smoke surrounded Naruto and three forms surrounded him.
"EARTH"
"Storm…"
"AND FIRRRREEEEEE!
-x-
The reaction to Naruto's latest technique varied across the room. Most looked on in shock.
One person looked at the blond with both loathing and jealousy. Sasuke could only stare and wonder how the blond managed to get a Summoning Contract.
Kakashi was in shocked, but that was quickly replaced with understanding. He only knew one person who held that particular contract. Or at least he knew of them. He remembered his old sensei speaking of her as one of the few people he respected unconditionally, which was funny because he didn't even respect Jiraiya unconditionally. It explained where Naruto may have learned a few of his more colorful techniques. After thinking about it, it made sense that the boy was receiving training, or had received training, from an outside source.
Hiruzen, on the other hand, looked at the trio of Pandaren with other loathing. Naruto was one step closer to Kreia, and one more step away from him. He was running out of time.
-x-
"Well that looks interesting", Fire commented, staring straight at the Golem.
Storm was looking at the ninja in front of him, one hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Lemme guess…had a wild time with his sister?" he asked, gesturing towards the Iwa-nin.
The comment even caught Akatsuchi off guard. Naruto, for his part, could only blush at it. "What! No!"
Storm's eyes narrowed, "Mother?"
His blush darkened, "NO!"
"Fire, Storm, take out the kid. I got the Golem?" Earth commented, raising his hammer.
Fire turned back, "Is that what that thing is?"
"Hmmm…" Earth crouched for a moment, before leaping at the Golem. He raised his hammer, saw the Golem raise it's hand to block, and smashed the weapon down. Though the manipulated clay/earth didn't break, it did crack under the strength of the hit.
On the other side, Storm and Fire rushed Akatsuchi.
Eyes wide, the Iwa-nin opened his mouth and allowed the giant's fist to pop out of his mouth again, but both Pandas managed to dance around it. Flames immolated around Fire's swords. Storm's hands began crackling with electricity.
Naruto immediately put his hands in a cross seal, but dropped the sign just as quickly when his vision began to blur even more. The direct hit from the Golem, the one Akatsuchi hadn't completely summoned yet, had really did a number on him. On instinct alone, he knew that Earth was still fighting the Golem. He knew that Storm and Fire finished their fight though, when Storm sent an electrical current into the Iwa-nin, more than enough to knock him out. He heard Akatsuchi fall to the ground in a small thud, and his Golem disappear a moment later.
Relief washed over the Blond Jinchuuriki. Relief that was immediately replaced with shame. He made a snap judgment, and immediately acted upon it without thinking it through. The gambit nearly cost him the match…it would have cost him his life in a real life situation. He also had given up one of his secret techniques, his Summoning Contract. What's worse was that he had been essentially forced to allow his familiars fight for him…as opposed to Akatsuchi who had fought side by side with his.
It was…humiliating.
"The winner is Naruto", he heard Hayate call out from the side.
The blond turned when he felt a hand/paw on his shoulder. He looked up to see Earth kneeling beside him. "Call us later, we'll talk."
With that, the trio of Pandas immediately disappeared in a puff of smoke.
The blond groaned and tried to stand, finding it much easier to do so. He momentarily wondered what Earth had wanted to talk about. He remembered that EVERY time he summoned one of the Pandaren, he would be evaluated…he just knew that this recent battle wasn't a point in his favor. He just prayed they didn't abandon him from this match alone.
"Okay, everyone who's left, get your asses down to the arena", the proctor of the second exam, Anko, said as she jumped down to ground level. In a matter of moments, the twelve remaining participants arrived in front of her. Hayate, as well as three other proctors, all flanked her. The purple haired woman gestured for one of the proctors to move forward, a proctor holding a bucket. "We're first going to decide who will fight who during the finals. The bucket has twelve pieces of paper, each with numbers on it. Now, each of you get in line and draw a piece."
One by one, each of the participants reached into the bucket and drew one piece of paper.
Once they were done, Anko went over to a nearby chalkboard, "Tell us your numbers."
"Number 10!" (Lee)
"I got 8." (Kankuro)
"Number 1!" (Naruto)
"3" (Neji)
"5" (Temari)
"9" (Sasuke)
"6" (Shikamaru)
"4" (Shino)
"Number 12" (Dosu)
"I got number 7" (Ino)
"11" (Gaara)
"Number 2" (Kurotsuchi)
Anko nodded, taking everything in. "Alright then. Then in this order: Match one will be between: Naruto vs Kurotsuchi"
"Match two will be between: Neji vs Shino"
"Match three will be between: Temari vs Shikamaru"
"Match four will be between: Ino vs Kankuro"
"Match five will be between: Sasuke vs Lee"
"and Match six will be between: Gaara vs Dosu"
Kakashi frowned as he looked at the board.
"As you all know, all of your possible opponents have seen your abilities", the Hokage began, walking forward to get everyone's attention. His statement wasn't exactly true though. It was obvious that some of the participants were holding back. And then there was Shikamaru, who didn't even fight. "The finals will be held in exactly one month. Use this time to develop new techniques and tactics, for your upcoming fights. Use this time to develop strategies against not only your opponents, but the ones you may face after your first battle. Now, are there any questions?"
Shikamaru raised his hand, and the Hokage gave him a small nod. "So, is the winner of the finals going to become a Chunin?"
Hiruzen shook his head, "No, not at all. You see, proctors, as well as certain delegates that will to watch the exams, will decide the ones who graduate to Chunin. Winning the finals just means you had more chances to show off your skills for the judges. It's possible that most of you will become Chunin, win or lose. It's even possible that none of you will become Chunin." Finishing his statement, he turned to the participants, waiting for another question.
Temari raised her hand, "What's going to happen during the finals. After the first two rounds, assuming there are no ties, it looks like there'll be three combatants at the end. How is that going to work?" Obviously, she was asking if one of the last three was going to get another bi, like Shikamaru did during the prelims.
"If we do have three combatants during the third round, it's highly likely that we will have a three person free for all", Hiruzen replied. Once again, he waited for any questions. He got none. "If there are no more questions, I wish you all good luck."
The remaining two Iwa-nins, Kurotsuchi and the team's sensei, walked out of the arena, stormed out in the case of the former. They had planned to visit the clinic to learn the status on their two comrades.
Kurotsuchi looked to be on a warpath. He sensei actually looked at her with more than a bit of amusement. "You should try to relax."
"That was bullshit!" the girl seethed. "He brought out a bunch of fucking summons to fight his battle for him like a little bitch!"
The older woman shrugged at her charge. "To be fair, the kid only brought them out when he was about to lose the fight. He also looked ready to keep fighting…he just nearly dropped when he tried to."
"Bullshit!"
The team's sensei chuckled, "A summon is considered an extension of the user. It's a perfectly legit way to win a match. And do mind your profession; having honor and being fair will get you killed on the battlefield."
Kurotsuchi took a moment to digest the words, before narrowing her eyes. "Not having honor will get him killed, in one month!" she spat that last word out.
The older woman chuckled again. "Now that's the kinda attitude I like to see."
A/N: Naruto has a target on his back. Can he win against an opponent he knows virtually little about? We'll see.
I gotta wonder about the Uchiha Clan during these Chunin exams. Most of them would be fine, but those held in Konoha would be another story altogether. What's to stop random Uchiha from sitting in the audience and stealing the techniques of the participants. Sure, most of them would probably be Genin level Jutsu…but they're still Justu from other villages.
I gotta imagine that the Exams have rules in place to prevent that. Which is what I did here when Sasuke was forbidden from using his Sharingan, while he was in the catwalks. While fighting…everything is fair game though. They were just thoughts I had for a while and never got to implement. After all, Sasuke leaves the arena after the first fight (his fight) and doesn't show up for the finals (supposedly) until his fight, which is when everything goes to hell.
Anyway, for fans of the story, let me know what you think.
